SXSW: The Sought-After Advisers and Winning Startups

Rapper Nasir “Nas” bin Olu Dara Jones, left, and Benjamin “Ben” Horowitz, co-founder and partner at Andreessen Horowitz, shake hands after a featured session at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival.

Bloomberg

BY SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

Some entrepreneurs came to South By Southwest in hopes of finding a co-founder to team up with on a business idea. Others looked to raise funds for their startups by strategically schmoozing with investors. And media-hungry founders sought press coverage as they demonstrated how their products and services work on the trade-show floor.

While the five-day interactive event offered a myriad of panels on hot topics like online privacy, wearable technology and the future of the digital currency Bitcoin, many in attendance said their principal goal was to develop relationships with folks who could benefit their startups. Among their wish lists was to recruit famous advisers in attendance like investor Ben Horowitz, who was spotted dancing alongside actor Ashton Kutcher at a party as musician Nas rapped; America Online co-founder and Revolution CEO Steve Case, who spoke during a session on entrepreneurial trends; and Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, who co-led a discussion on the current state of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. (Mr. Cuban also appears on the ABC television show Shark Tank, which held a pitch contest at SXSW for startup founders seeking a spot on the program.)

In addition, some four-dozen startups participated in the in the festival’s accelerator competition before investor judges like Ethan Kurzweil of Bessemer Venture Partners, Jon Callaghan of True Ventures and Garry Tan of Y Combinator. The nine winners included startups like The Eye Tribe, a seven-year-old software firm from Copenhagen that was named “most innovative” for its eye-tracking technology used to control mobile devices. Also, Sensible Baby of Somerville, Mass., maker of a sensor for tracking a baby’s position, temperature and movement on a smartphone or tablet, won “best bootstrapped” company. And Israel-based startup Samba.me took home the prize for “social” with its mobile app that allows people to send up to 15 seconds of videos and record recipients’ reactions.

The winners received two Interactive badges for next year’s festival, cash and various tech-related prizes from the competition’s sponsors.

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